RIP Barry Commoner, 1917-2012

Barry Commoner was one of the pioneers of the environmental movement who ran as a third party candidate for president in 1980, making that issue a big part of his platform.

Commoner was an outspoken advocate for environmental issues. He was one of the founders of a well-known survey of baby teeth in St. Louis that started in the late 1950s. The survey assessed the levels of strontium-90 in the teeth and showed how children were absorbing radioactive fallout from nuclear bombs that were being tested.

The survey helped persuade government officials to partially ban some kinds of nuclear testing.

“He had a very strong belief that scientists had a social responsibility, that the discoveries would be used for social good, and that scientists also had an obligation to educate the public about scientific issues so that the public could make informed political decisions,” [his wife, Lisa] Feiner said.